UK shoppers are set to splurge £2.5billion with 17 MILLION hitting the shops on Cyber Monday

Britons are set to splurge an estimated £2.5billion on Cyber Monday deals today, as shoppers continue to shun the high street for Christmas this year.

Many retailers have been trying to capitalise on the digital shopping spree since Black Friday where the public spent an estimated £2.4billion online.

And the trend is set to continue as Cyber Monday will see the average customer part with £111 each for online deals as 17million Brits are expected to take part.

Cyber Monday is traditionally the online-only accompaniment to Black Friday sales which take place in-store and online but due to the pandemic meaning all non-essential shops are closed, the entire weekend of sales has taken place online. 

UK shoppers are expected to spend an estimated £2.5billion on Cyber Monday deals today

Oxford Street in London’s West End was quiet as Black Friday got underway across the country and experts predict Cyber Monday will also see drop in footfall to the beleaguered high streets

According to the Sun, shoppers are expected to spend £1.9billion online and £600million in-store during the fire sale which will conclude four days of large discounts on a wide range of goods.

The anticipated frenzy has caused concern that a wave of technical problems could hit shoppers as they try and race to the best offers available, similar to the issues that plagued Black Friday.

The online rush caused trouble, with the Curry’s PC World site crashing and PayPal users reporting a spike in problems.

Currys PC World also apologised to customers after some saw hundreds of pounds accidentally wiped off their gift cards in a Black Friday surge. 

But it wasn’t all bad for retailers as John Lewis sales soared 35 per cent and eBay shifted two items a second. 

Debit card data from Nationwide showed transactions were up 21 per cent compared to usual, a 2 per cent increase on Black Friday last year, while the Argos website saw 113 visits per second. 

People are anticipated to spend £39.41billion online this Christmas, compared to £39.17billion in store.

This is a shift from last year when the figures were £25.43billion online and £53.15billion in store.

A study by the Centre for Retail Research estimated spending at online stores over the three days this year will hit £5.75 billion – up by 53 per cent on the £3.77 billion for the Black Friday weekend last year. 

A separate report predicted that online spending on Black Friday saw £1.34million spent every minute. 

Because much of the high street is closed, the report – commissioned by Vouchercodes.co.uk – predicts that spending in bricks-and-mortar shops over the weekend will be down by 63.7 per cent on last year, from £4.79billion to £1.74billion. 

With Cyber Monday anticipated to be as busy as Black Friday concerns have been raised technical difficulties could plague shoppers as on Friday. Pictured: The Currys PC World site crashed due to spike in visitors with a note saying ‘we’re down for a bit of maintenance’ 

Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the Centre for Retail Research, told the Sun: ‘Cyber Monday is so big online as people now often want to check prices before buying goods.

‘Some wait for bigger discounts after Black Friday.

‘But such high website volumes mean some retailers’ online systems won’t be able to manage the increased demand.’

Black Friday, a US custom in which shops slash prices to lure Christmas shoppers, falls the day after Thanksgiving, which is celebrated on the last Thursday of November. 

However some UK retailers, including Next, M&S, Wilko and B&M say they will not take part in the annual sale event.

They have pledged to focus on offering good value all-year round instead.